The Servant

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Kevin L @Lakeman 6d There's posh, nancy Tony. There's playboy Tony. Then there's besotted, played Tone; tone deaf, at least to what was really going on in that head of his 'man servant', Barrett. Masterful writing from the great Harold Pinter pairs with highly skillful directing by Joseph Losey. Tone, pacing, score, and stellar acting work to bring out themes of class, desires, and betrayal. Tony's self-absorbed arrogance blinds him from knowing true honesty from Hugo Barrett playing upon his ego. There's great use of mirrors here to reflect, or subvert what we perceive from what is the ugly reality of things. Tony goes from being served by Barrett the butler, to serving Barrett's desire to be the man of the house; to being Hugo's stepping stone. Bogarde and Fox are remarkable. But the support work by Miles and Craig is fine as well. 4.2 stars See more Garry A @heavyg Sep 12 It moves slowly but it's interesting. The man servant betrays his employer and in a weird twist it takes a homoerotic twist. It's a very subversive ending. See more Cheryl S @RT31402584 Jun 10 Never had heard of this movie but after watching most of it I had to see the ending. This is not my kind of movie, thus the 3 stars. But it does get 5 stars on the portrayal of the sickness of mankind The acting and cinematography were good, I just don’t like dark and macabre type of human dynamics and self destructive tactics albeit they do depict reality in its most guttural degrading form, and in that context the movie was a success. The director did a superb job in portraying layers of abusive elements of the human psyche and showing how self serving we are at the expense of anybody. I related to the Servant because of a job I held for many years catering to the elites’s whims and I am thankful I didn’t reduce myself to such sinister behavior that consumes a soul, nor did I want to live in their world. It can be a condescending place to be but not enough for me to seek manipulation and soak my mindset in bitterness. See more Alec B @Alec97 12/08/2024 The movie has been subjected to a lot of superficial readings that analyze the themes as a fairly straightforward criticism of English class dynamics. This is understandable but that misses a lot of other dynamics at play (the barely contained homoerotic undertones, the ways men and women try to control each other, an examination of the profound weirdness of the master/servant dynamic, etc.) and this is definitely a movie that should not be reduced to simplistic readings. See more Davide l @RT55580789 03/16/2023 Reminiscent of Gaslight's early and valiant attempt at describing and highlighting particular oddities arising in the constrained human dynamics of living in boxes and depending on money for a living. See more Shioka O @RT54204327 01/12/2023 Classy drama about UK class corruption. Beautifully filmed and meticulously directed. Great acting by British actors, particularly by Bogarde, showing he can do anything. It's slow and I half slept until the middle, but gripping after that twist revealing Barrett's desire. See more Read all reviews

The Servant

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